The invention relates to a lap counter for radio controlled vehicles.
Radio controlled vehicles enjoy a considerable popularity. They are controlled by the "driver" by means of a radio transmitting device. In general, one, two or even more functions may be controlled. Normally the driving direction and also the speed are controlled.
Good radio controlled vehicles have a proportional control of the driving direction which enables the negotiation of curves of any desired radius. A further function which may be proportionally controlled is the speed, both backwards and forwards. Over and above these two functions it is possible to control other functions of such a toy vehicle in a manner similar to that of full size vehicles.
Even though such radio controlled vehicles arouse a particular fascination it has not previously been possible to record the driving performance of a driver.
By contrast, there are many ways of measuring the performance, i.e. the number of laps driven, with toy vehicles that are connected to a track. Such measuring is easily possible in this case since the current supply to the vehicles occurs via portions of the track.
Radio controlled vehicles have the disadvantage for the user that, due to the fact that they are free running, that is to say they can go anywhere, a number of possibilities of playing with them are not realisable.
It is an object of the present invention to remove these disadvantages and to provide a lap counter for radio controlled vehicles which can reliably measure the number of laps run by a vehicle round a track despite the fact that such vehicles have no fixed lateral position on the track.